That’s exactly what an independent diamond broker had to do earlier this month after the stone — with an estimated wholesale value of $750,000 — fell out of his pocket in a crowded Diamond District jewelry exchange. Although he realized moments after leaving the exchange that the diamond wasn’t in his pocket, it couldn’t be found. The stone was gone.
When the owners reported the stone’s loss to its insurer, Lloyd’s of London, the company immediately hired renowned adjuster John Enders of McLarens Young International to investigate. Enders hoped that the DGA Security Systems cameras at the exchange — The New York Jewelry Center — had caught something to corroborate the broker’s story. He went to DGA and property owner Ken Kahn, managing partner of 10 West 47th Associates, to ask for archived video files showing all activity on the exchange floor. As Enders and DGA employees reviewed footage from the exchange’s many cameras, they made a discovery. A clip clearly showed the broker accidentally dropping the diamond. This supported the broker’s claims that he had indeed lost it, but it still left the owners without their diamond.
However, after additional days of scouring video footage, Enders identified a second camera angle that revealed a person in the exchange finding the stone on the floor moments after the broker walked out. The video’s image quality allowed Enders, after some on-the-street investigating, to identify and contact the person who found the stone — a local merchant who quickly returned the missing diamond to its owners.
At the end of the day the decision to install a DGA digital video system had led to the vindication of the diamond broker and saved a local diamond dealer and its insurer from a huge financial setback. Mr. Kahn, the exchange owner, was delighted. “I’ve always believed that my DGA system provides the best possible security for my tenants, but today this technology was responsible for a truly extraordinary event, and everyone involved in the recovery of this diamond is grateful to DGA and to John Enders,” he said.
DGA Founder and President Stanley Oppenheim said, “A security system is more than technology. Our digital video surveillance system enabled us to find the missing diamond, but only with the support of a well-designed system, highly trained security personnel, a vigilant client, and an expert investigator. I am heartened that all of these elements worked together not merely to prevent a significant financial loss, but also to restore something incalculable: A reputation.”
